The Secret Paopu!
by Totally-Out-Of-It
Summary: RikuSora PreGame Sora wants to share a Paopu with Riku, but how to accomplish it? What does Riku want? What becomes of a Secret Paopu.....


**The Secret Paopu! **- RxS

"He would never..."

A brunette was holding a star shaped fruit and had his brow furrowed, before sunrise.

"But..." they sighed. A thought struck.

"Maybe if he didn't...yea!"

They threw their fist into the air, effectively tossing their fruit over their shoulder and 15 ft away.

"Ah! The paopu!"

- - - — — —

A silver haired kid, about 11 or 12, hopped out of a canoe and landed on the dock with a grace many didn't have.

"Riku!" a brunette boy called.

Riku raised his head and turned to his friend. He smiled and waved, then saw Sora had something in his hands. Something large, yellow, and star shaped. His mind blanked for a moment. Then started up again.

'_Why does Sora have a Paopu with him? He was actually brave enough to go climb that tree? How long's he been here? It's sunrise, I'm always first...Why does Sora have a Paopu with him? Does he like me? I like him. Do I like him like that? Why does Sora have a Paopu with him?'_

"Good Morning Riku!" Sora stopped in front of him on the dock and laughed like always. Riku blinked out of his thoughts at the normality of it all.

"Morning Sora. What are you doing here this early?" he asked, looking around. "Is anyone else here with you?" he supposed maybe Wakka or Kairi might've gotten him the destiny fruit.

"Nope." he smiled with an air of pride. "I'm here by myself." Sora smiled as he turned (back now to Riku) and followed Riku's lead and looked around the island. "I came here early to pick this!" he became himself again as he spoke and spun around to face the silver haired boy and held out the fruit.

"Why'd you do that?" Sora's smile faltered at Riku's cold words. Then the boy laughed and put an arm over Sora's shoulder. "You know I would've picked one for you. You're afraid to climb that tree, you could've fallen in." he said good-heartedly. Sora feigned pouting.

"That was mean Riku!" he complained, pushing the arm away. Riku blinked at him. "Anyways...here...I don't know what it tastes like...but-" he flushed.

"You want me to taste it for you huh?" Riku finished for him, taking the star from his friend with a smile. Now Sora blinked at _him_. He shrugged. "Least I can do after hurting your feelings."

Sora smiled a wide smile and Riku couldn't help but smile back. He then took part of the Paopu and ate it. Sora was jumping for joy on the inside.

'_Not too bad. Maybe now I can get Sora to...no. He just wanted to know what it tastes like...Oh well, at least I can try for him never eating the crud with Kairi...'_

Riku scrunched his face up in mock disgust. Sora's smile failed him. The silver haired boy then narrowed his eyes at the remaining fruit and chucked it over his shoulder and over the edge of the dock. Sora had to refrain from jumping after it to hide his true intentions.

"Nasty, really." Riku said in a cold voice. He then softened immensely. "Come on Sora. We'll go spar." he smiled kindly at the brunette, then walked past him. Sora blinked out of his self induced horror.

"I'll...meet you near the poupu tree, ok Riku? I gotta get my sword." he smiled at Riku and the latter of the two shrugged.

"Ok." he turned and walked off the dock.

As he was continuing along the beach, Sora dropped his smile and leapt into his canoe. He reached down to get his wooden sword from under the seat when he saw it, and his smile grew.

- - - — — —

'_If Sora really wants to share that with me...He'll be pretty happy.'_

He smiled, remembering the moment.

_Riku took a bite of the Paopu. After a moment of enjoying it, he scrunched his face up in mock disgust. Sora stopped smiling. Riku looked around slightly with just his eyes and an idea sparked. He inwardly smiled as he glared at the innocent fruit and then chucked the thing over his shoulder...right into Sora's canoe..._

He sighed and let his head drop slightly as he walked.

'_But then again, he'll probably just throw it out...'_

Riku stopped when he got on the large rock and leaned against the poupu tree. He turned his head and looked over at the canoes, at Sora. He often watched as Sora arrived, last, on the island.

The way his brown hair looked in the morning, futilely brushed and moving due to the wind. How he smiled at everyone he walked by. How he sparred with anyone who would fight him, just for the chance to be able to beat Riku in their friendly bouts. He would watch the way Sora walked, talked, was just plain...Sora. And he was always last to go home, so he could see Sora leave just before him and Kairi.

Kairi, yea...Sora liked Kairi. It was obvious. Riku himself was supposed to have a crush on the girl. But he only ever smirked at Kairi, or not at all. He smiled at Sora, sparred with Sora, loved to just_ be_ with Sora. Kairi just...always happened to be around. She was also bright, and Riku was sure she'd noticed this fact. And she liked Sora too...

But all these thoughts disappeared when he saw the canoes. Instead of depressing at his thoughts of Kairi with Sora, or daydreaming of said brunette, he smiled. Riku actually felt he would start floating anytime now.

Sora was sitting in his canoe like he used to when he was a kid. His back to the side closest to the island, legs bent and on the seat with him, feet connected. Before, this would be accompanied by the brunette either staring out at the ocean, or sleeping sitting up. Now though, Sora was looking down at the yellow fruit.

Riku had been happy when he saw this. Sora hadn't chucked it yet! The floating feeling came when he saw Sora take a bite from said fruit. He dropped his own sword when Sora started crying as he ate. What happened?

- - - — — —

The paopu was there, sitting on the bench of his canoe. This is where Riku had thrown it! He hadn't actually gotten rid of it. Sora was happy, really happy. But he wondered, if Riku didn't want to get rid of it, why had he? And did it really taste that bad?

Discarding these thoughts, he grabbed the fruit and sat on the bench. He remembered countless times when he would sit here and stare. Riku would ask what was wrong, since it was so out of character for him. Or when he fell asleep and someone had to come and wake him up, usually Riku with a sparring offer or a giggling Kairi.

As he continued with these thoughts, he bit into the fruit, near where Riku had bitten. He couldn't keep from smiling as he ate, but he also couldn't stop his mind from thinking...

Riku liked Kairi. Of course he would. Sure, he wasn't always to nice around her, but haven't you heard of the kids who bully the girls, just because they like them? Riku and him were best friends...they were both guys...it would never happen.

Sora felt warmth at the corners of his eyes and knew he was about to cry. His smile faltered and fell when the tears started, but he kept eating.

Sora remembered taking forever to get ready to come to the island everyday. Always futilely trying to tame his hair, and finally giving up. He never knew what to say to Riku when he showed up. Of course, it always ended up being "Yea!" because Riku would talk first and say "Wanna spar?"

He remembered always glancing over at the rock, their sparring rock, to see Riku and finding that the silver haired boy was staring back. When he left, he would turn around and wave. Kairi would smile and start getting into her own boat, but Riku would just stand there. At one point, Sora wondered if he_ lived _on the island, but a trip to the boy's house proved that false.

Sora always enjoyed being with Riku. He was a constant presence in Sora's life! Always there to comfort, fight, be with, or hurt. Riku had hurt him physically whenever they sparred, and emotionally whenever Sora saw him smile or joke around with Kairi and not him. Whenever Sora was being a chicken, was scared, or sad, Riku was there. He was like the older brother Sora never had...older brother.

If liking another guy was wrong, then liking your older brother was worse.

His tears multiplied and as soon as he had finished his current bite of the not-so-bad-tasting fruit, he dropped it to the side and put his face in his hands. He hoped Riku wasn't looking...this was his weakest moment by far. He hoped it hadn't been to long since Riku walked away, or he'd come walking back. Sora just wanted time to stop, so maybe he could get back under control!

He faintly heard the boards creak, but paid no heed. Then he was being held and he didn't care who it was. He felt safe and warm in their strong embrace. He had his eyes closed and was crying into the fabric of their shirt. He wrapped his arms around them in return, holding close whoever would comfort him at a time like this. Then he heard the voice of the object of his pain.

"What's the matter...Sora?"

- - - — — —

Riku jumped from the bridge and ran along the beach. He stopped just short of the dock and walked quietly onto the creaking wood. Either Sora didn't hear him, or Sora didn't care. He'd go with the former.

Riku hopped silently into his friend's boat and watched him cry. He couldn't stand seeing Sora like this, it felt like his heart was going to burst from the pain. So he reached out...and held him. Riku held him, laying his head on Sora's and closing his eyes. Sora held him back, but Riku knew the boy didn't know who he was holding.

"What's the matter...Sora?" he asked, his voice soft. He immediately wished he hadn't spoken because the brunette pulled away almost immediately and tried to stop crying.

"N-nothing...!" he insisted. Riku frowned at him and pulled him back into an embrace, which thoroughly confused Sora.

Riku had his right arm around Sora's waist, with his hand on his back. The other was going around just below Sora's shoulder and his hand was on the back of the boy's head.

"Lying is bad Sora." He said in a slightly colder voice, then softened again. Sora had already relaxed in the hold. "Now what's wrong?"

Sora didn't know how to explain without letting loose the fact that he liked the older boy. Riku moved though, so that he was only holding him with his right arm. He picked something up, passed it to his right hand and then held Sora with his left. He nudged Sora slightly to make him look at the item.

"Is this it?" he muttered calmly. Sora gasped softly at the yellow, partially eaten, fruit. Riku smiled in a caring way, though Sora couldn't see it. He laid his head on Sora's again before he spoke. "Don't worry...it's alright."

Sora blinked as Riku handed him the star and then held Sora with both hands on his back. He contemplated what Riku had just said. Wait...

Riku knew he liked him! He had purposely thrown the fruit in the boat to see what Sora would do! That bas-but...he said 'it's alright'...did that mean he liked Sora back? Sora sniffed slightly as he started crying softly again.

"Sora? What happened?" Riku asked, worried, as he pulled away slightly. He put a hand on each of Sora's shoulders and turned the boy slightly towards him. "Was it me? Did_ I_ do something wrong?" Sora shook his head and Riku calmed...slightly.

"B-but you like Kairi..." Sora managed. Sora could've sworn that if Riku's face got any softer or more caring, the boy would be nothing more than a pack of mush.

"You really think that?" he asked softly. Sora nodded and Riku stood up. "Come on!" he said, back to normal in the ungodly time if .0000000001 second.

Sora nearly fell over at the change, but managed to keep it so all he did was drop the paopu. Riku got out of the canoe and stood on the dock.

"Have I ever hugged Kairi?" he asked with a smirk.

Sora blinked. Had he? No...he hadn't! The younger boy launched himself at Riku, causing them both to end up flat on the dock, Sora on top of Riku, laughing into the wood and Riku wide eyed and surprised.

By the time the others arrived(36 minutes and 15 seconds later; Sora apparently timed it...), they were already sparing on the large rock with the paopu tree, as if nothing had happened.

- - - — — —


End file.
